Practitioners' Guide - Working safely with children and young people

This guidance is designed to complement any existing guidance on this topic that services and agencies may already have, not to replace it.

Introduction

Working safely with children and young people is an important part of any role in which one has contact with them. A multi-agency group of practitioners has created this guidance to support every person who works with children and young people to ensure that they understand their responsibility to behave appropriately and at, all times, in the child or young person's best interests. Recognising what is and is not appropriate behaviour and having the confidence and courage to call it out, is an important part of safeguarding. This guidance provides information regarding those who hold a position of trust and practical information and advice for practitioners to ensure that children and young people are kept safe.

What do we mean by 'working safely'?

It is everyone's job [Scottish Government] to make sure that children and young people are alright in our communities and wider society. However, for those of us who work with children and young people, there is a clear duty of care to behave appropriately towards them, act in their best interests and help keep them safe from harm.

'Working safely' means treating children and young people with respect, role-modelling pro-social behaviour and creating and maintaining professional boundaries in working relationships with them. It means working with children and young people in their best interests and keeping them safe from harm. Working safely with children and young people also safeguards practitioners as by behaving appropriately, ensuring that they do not breach professional boundaries and following practice-specific guidance ensures that practitioners reduce the risk of allegations being made against them, from any person. Moreover, when practitioners are clear about appropriate behaviour when working with children and young people, it is easier for them to notice inappropriate behaviours from colleagues and to raise concerns. Everyone is safer when good, safe practices are used when working with children and young people.

Why is it so important?

It is important to remember that the vast majority of people who work with children and young people do so because they have a strong commitment to protecting them, promoting their healthy development and find it personally and professionally satisfying.

Sadly, however, although every effort is made to ensure that those working with children and young people are safe and suitable to do so, such as through the PVG scheme and other pre-employment checks, some adults who wish to exploit children and young people  deliberately choose to work in areas which bring them into contact with them.

The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, established in 2015 and still ongoing, and the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in England and Wales (2015 to 2022) were set up to explore historic institutional and systemic abuse of children. What both inquiries have found is evidence of horrendous abuse of children and young people which was systemic in nature, within residential homes and schools for children and young people and within religious organisations which continued for many years. Institutional abuse was uncovered in which different agencies and politicians were involved in both perpetrating abuse and covering it up. Some of these concerns were as recent as the 1990s and early 2000s. Cultures of silence, inappropriate staff behaviour and a refusal to listen to the voices of children and young people enabled the physical and sexual abuse to not only continue but to worsen.

The abuse investigated in the inquiries above is mainly historic but there are many examples of individuals who worked with children and young people, as social workers, teachers, youth workers or through sports, for example, being convicted of sexual offences against children and young people for whom they were responsible in recent years. There is therefore no room for complacency and all practitioners working with children and young people have a responsibility to ensure that their practice and behaviour keeps children and young people as safe as possible. It is important for practitioners to keep in mind that although the majority of people who commit sexual offences against children are male, there is a small proportion of females who have a sexual interest in children and young people and seek to abuse them.

What are positions of trust?

Everyone who works with children and young people fundamentally holds a position of trust towards them. However, a position of trust is a legally defined role in the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 in which an adult has power, influence, or authority over a child or young person under the age of 18 years. The Act prohibits practitioners from engaging in sexual activity with or towards a person under 18 years of age for whom they are in a position of trust, or to cause or incite the person under 18 to engage in sexual activity.

As stated in the Act, a person is considered to be in a position of trust if any of the below conditions are met in relation to a person under 18 years:

1. institutional care: the child is detained or accommodated in an institution such as residential school, care home or hospital and the adult looks after children there
2. educational settings: the adult teaches, supervises, or cares for children in schools or further/higher education institutions
3. local authority care: the child is placed in accommodation provided by a local authority, and the adult is responsible for their care
4. parental responsibility: the adult has or previously had parental rights or responsibilities or treats the child as part of their family and is a member of their household
5. regular supervision: the adult regularly cares for, trains, teaches, or supervises the child

It is important to note that although the age of consent for sexual intercourse is 16 years, the provisions around positions of trust relate to children and young people under the age of 18 years due to the inherent power imbalance and the potential for grooming, manipulation and coercion.

Although the Act does not stipulate the justice consequences for a person in a position of trust who is convicted of sexual offences against a child or young person under their care, it is likely that they will face harsher sentencing arrangements. A person convicted of sexual offences will also face career-ending consequences as well as sanction and de-registration from their professional body.

Clearly, the vast majority of practitioners in these roles would be appalled at the thought of such behaviour towards children and young people in their care or under their supervision. Nonetheless, it is important that everyone is clear about this area of law, particularly with respect to 16- and 17-year-olds.

Codes of practice for professionals and volunteers

All professional codes of practice state that professionals should not exploit children, young people and adults accessing their services in any way and the duty of professionals to work in the best interests of the people with whom they work. Practitioners in registered professions whose behaviour is not in line with their profession's code of practice risk sanctions from restrictions on their registration through to being de-registered and no longer allowed to practice.

In addition to professional codes of practice, individual services and agencies may also have their own codes of conduct for paid employees and volunteers. Any agency or service, whether statutory, independent, private or third sector, which works with children, young people and families must also have a clear child protection policy.

Here are the links for the codes of practice, conduct or ethics for different professions:

• General Teaching Council for Scotland for teaching staff
• Scottish Social Services Council for social work and social care staff
• Nursing and Midwifery Council for nurses and midwives
• Community Learning and Development Standards Council, Scotland for community learning and development workers. 
• Police Scotland code of practice for employees of Police Scotland
• Health and Care Professions Council for health, care and psychology professionals

Your duty of care

Any practitioner who has the care of a child or young person must ensure that they are safe and protected from harm. At all times, the child or young person's safety has to be the worker's primary responsibility.

In the sections below, the importance of strong boundaries is discussed in depth but there may or will be occasions in which a worker must physically intervene to ensure the safety of the child or young person, and a commonsense approach is required. This would include things like:

• a child or young person is upset or angry and runs towards a busy road - there is a strong risk to their life, and the worker intervenes by taking their hand or arm to prevent them from being run over
• a child or young person is choking on something, and the worker needs to use the abdominal thrust manoeuvre to clear their airway so they can breathe

These are situations in which doing nothing is not an option. There will be other situations that may be less clear cut, and this is where accurate, timely recording and reporting are important. So, if incidents like this happen, the practitioner must always let their manager know and ensure that they complete a record of what happened and why, together with the names of any witnesses to what occurred, if available.

Risks for children and young people increase when they are taken out in the wider community so practitioners who are planning trips or journeys with children and young people must always follow the risk assessment guidelines within their service or agency, legal requirements, and gain appropriate parental consent for the activity before doing so.

Restrictive practice

Restrictive practice is defined as making someone do something they do not want to do or stopping them from doing something they do want to do, by restricting or restraining them, or depriving them of their liberty. The use of restrictive practice in all services should only ever be viewed as a 'last resort' and where the risks and benefits to the person have been considered within a legal, ethical and practical framework.

If you use restrictive practice with a child or young person when there are other workable, less restrictive options available to them, this may result in them being hurt and their rights are breached, which could lead to civil or criminal proceedings.

If you are working with a child or young person where you assess there may be a risk of them placing themselves in danger, then this should be highlighted in your risk assessment and strategies agreed in advance.

Residential staff: please refer to the CELCIS Holding Safely Guidance.

Transporting children and young people in cars

For Perth and Kinross employees, pool cars should always be the first option for transporting children and young people. These are speed-limited and have trackers so that the whereabouts of workers, children and young people are always known - an important safety measure in severe weather, for example. Pool cars are also fully insured for business use of transporting staff, children and young people. If transporting children and young people in one's own car, workers must ensure that they have business insurance, they are serviced on schedule, have MOTs and tax.

When practitioners are transporting children and young people in cars, the following list, which is not exhaustive, sets out what drivers must do.

• Ensure that they are fit and able to drive - they have not taken any medication which could make them drowsy or other substances. They have glasses if they need them for driving and are wearing them.
• Ensure the car is in a suitable condition for driving by having a check around the vehicle before taking off.
• Drive within the set speed limits and ensure that they drive safely and responsibly at all times. This of course, should always be the case.
• Legal requirements for children and young people must be followed so that they have the correct car seat/booster for their height and weight.
• All passengers should wear seatbelts. The driver may be charged and fined up to £500 if a child or young person under the age of 14 is not wearing their seatbelt.
• Be mindful of the road and weather conditions. Always have a cold weather kit in the car in the event of becoming stuck or stranded due to weather conditions.

Why are clear boundaries important in working safely with children and young people?

Children and young people need and deserve to experience relationships with practitioners which are safe, promote trust and provide positive models of pro-social behaviour for them to learn from. The Independent Care Review has shown the importance of being cared for in warm and nurturing environments for children and young people who are looked after away from home. To safely achieve this, practitioners need to establish and maintain strong professional boundaries in their work with children and young people.

When professional boundaries are clear, safer care and support naturally follows. Workers need to be clear about their roles with children and young people, the parameters that guide their work with them and ensure that they follow them. When practitioners 'step outside' of their professional boundaries or they become blurred, regardless of the reasons, the safety of children and young people can be compromised. In addition, the practitioner opens up risk for themselves it their behaviour, which may be well-intentioned, is called into question.

When professionals, volunteers, children and young people are clear about professional boundaries, a safer environment is created for all. Colleagues and children and young people are able to raise issues of concern more effectively with respect to a practitioner's behaviour because the boundaries are visible and firm for all and it is easier to identify unsafe practices.

How can we work more safely with children and young people?

Children and young people have rights and deserve to be treated, at all times, with respect and care. It is important that practitioners working with children and young people are transparent that rules and boundaries about behaviours are there to keep everyone safe.

Practitioners should always adhere to their professional code of conduct and their employer's guidance. When working directly with a child or young person, it is not appropriate to:

• give the child or young person the practitioner's own personal telephone number
• take the child or young person to the practitioner's home for any reason
• arrange to meet or spend time with the child or young person outwith the practitioner's working hours unless specifically agreed with line management for a given purpose
• ask the child or young person for kisses or hugs
• ask the child or young person to keep secrets from others

This means that practitioners working with children and young people should:

• treat every child and young person with respect
• treat every child and young person fairly and equitably
• model pro-social attitudes through their language and presentation
• encourage children and young people to treat each other with respect and kindness
• engage with the child or young person in line with their age/stage of development
• be aware of safe care practices when supporting children and young people with any care needs
• be aware of touch in the context of the work setting; this will be very different in a nursery setting compared to a group of teenagers, for example
• have appropriate permission to take photos of children and young people; if taken on a personal device, they should be moved off it as soon as possible by emailing them to one's work account, for example
• model appropriate mobile phone use by putting it away and engaging with the person, children and young person they are with

They should not:

• call children and young people derogatory names or victimise them in any way
• single out individual children or young people as their 'favourite' or treat any child or young person worse than the others
• use or accept as 'banter' any kind of racist, homophobic, ableist, sexist or transphobic language; use or accept swearing or abusive language
• behave in a manner themselves or encourage others to behave in ways that are intended to humiliate or denigrate a child or young person
• not expose the child or young person to inappropriate content of any kind, regardless of whether deemed to be a 'joke'
• place the child or young person at risk by not using safe care practices
• seek affection from children and young people through asking for hugs or kisses, for example
• take photos of children and young people without their and their caregivers' permission
• not be spending time on their personal or work mobiles when they are in the presence of children and young people unless there is an emergency or urgent situation

Small communities and education practitioners

Practitioners who live in small communities may already have existing relationships with children and young people in their community through being friends with their parents, or the practitioner's own children being friends with the child or young person or perhaps through volunteering as a group leader or helper for activities. Wherever possible, practitioners such as social workers, should not have case responsibility for children and young people with whom they have these existing relationships.

It is acknowledged that education staff may have particular crossover in these areas due to the volume of children and young people with whom they work. There is a balance to be achieved here between the rights of children, young people and families and professional responsibilities. For example, a teacher's child has the right to friendships within their community which may include inviting those friends round to their home and vice versa. However, the teacher has a responsibility to behave appropriately in these situations and should be mindful of this in terms of their behaviours and how they might be perceived by others.

Clear standards and expectations

When practitioners are working with children and young people, they need to set and uphold clear standards for them and for themselves.

Children and young people under 16 years of age are not legally permitted to smoke cigarettes or use vapes. Children and young people under the age of 18 are not legally permitted to use alcohol. Practitioners should therefore make it clear to the child or young person that they should not be smoking, vaping or drinking alcohol in the presence of the practitioner and ask them not to do so.

The standards we set are important as children and young people copy the behaviour of adults. Therefore, no practitioner should be vaping or smoking in front of children and young people with which they are working. Practitioners should never be drinking alcohol or using substances during their working hours or on residential trips with children and young people. Alcohol and substances both serve to lower inhibitions and increase the chances of less safe choices being made. Practitioners should be aware that using alcohol or substances during work time or when away from base in charge of children and young people, could have consequences for their employment.

Practitioners should not be swearing in the presence of children and young people with whom they work and should not be making comments or 'jokes' that may be sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, ageist or otherwise discriminatory or abusive. When practitioners make comments or 'jokes' of this kind, they are communicating to children and young people that it is okay to treat others disrespectfully or unkindly. Behaviours which reinforce sexist or regressive stereotypes are harmful - such as getting the girls to make sandwiches while the boys play a game. Practitioners must always be alert to their own unconscious biases in these situations.

Practitioners have a responsibility to model positive behaviour when using mobile phones around children and young people with whom they are working. Unless there is an urgent concern or an emergency, mobile phones should be out of sight. Children and young people should not have to compete with a device for the attention of the practitioner.

Lone working arrangements

During the daytime (8am to 6pm), lone working forms part of duties and responsibilities of many practitioners, and their service and establishment protocols will provide the framework for lone working. This may include buddy systems, robust risk assessments and access to the most up-to-date profile of the child or young person and their family situation. Out of hours processes for practitioners will usually be in place from 6pm to 8am.

For Council employees, pool cars should be used wherever possible when practitioners are out in the community. This provides extra support as pool cars are usually tracked in terms of where they travel to, meaning that the destinations children and young people have been taken to can be seen and the car can be located in the event of an incident. The cars are also usually speed-regulated which is safer for all road users. If practitioners are using their personal car, it should be well-maintained, the driver registered with the Council as per guidance, and the car insured for business purposes.

Where staff are taking children and young people for a residential stay away as part of their school experience or their child/young person's plan, two members of staff is the expected minimum. Ideally, at least one staff member will be trained in first aid and have completed child protection training beyond the mandatory module for staff.

It is essential that any overnight trip away is robustly risk assessed using the frameworks of the practitioner's service and that ways to manage risk and work safely are considered within this. This would include a contingency for if a staff member becomes ill, such as a person being on call and available to join the group to take over responsibilities.

Working safely in dual roles

Paid roles

Some practitioners will have dual roles with children, young people and their families. Some teachers may offer private tuition; some staff may offer babysitting or being involved in care arrangements as part of a family's self-directed support package.

Within these roles, practitioners have a responsibility to work as safely as possible with children and young people. The location of some of these services will be within the family home. Practitioners must be aware of their professional responsibilities at all times and ensure that it does not impact on their primary role. For example, a child's right to dignity during personal care is the same whether it takes place in school or in their child's home and should not be treated differently. Practitioners who receive money from families for services such as tutoring, babysitting or providing care should make sure that they have followed the guidance within their service or agency about having additional employment. They must also ensure that they do not show favour to the children or young people with whom they work outside of their main role.

Unpaid roles

Other practitioners may be involved as sport coaches, Brownie leaders and other community pursuits as volunteers. They may also have roles of this kind which are remunerated. Irrespective of payment, the practitioners must follow the codes of practice associated with the activity undertaken, such as the guidance from the Girl Guiding Association or from Sport Scotland. Practitioners should also be mindful of their professional responsibilities and their implications.

Safe care/When physical touch is needed

Staff working within nurseries or services for children with additional support needs may need to carry out intimate care. When carrying out such tasks, staff must prioritise both the child's welfare and their own safety. Before starting, ensure a risk assessment has been completed about this activity and that this has been agreed by a senior or manager.

The personal care tasks should take place in a safe, private, and appropriate environment, avoiding complete isolation where possible, such as keeping doors unlocked or using rooms with viewing panels. During the process ensure you are explaining each step to the child or young person in age-appropriate language and ensuring consent from the child (where appropriate and possible) and/or their parent or carer.

Maintain professional boundaries by limiting physical contact to what is necessary, using personal protective equipment as required, and completing the task efficiently without rushing. Make sure the child or young person is comfortable, clean and treated with dignity at all times.

Afterward, complete your service's recording documentation, recording the time, nature of care, and any observations, and report any concerns or unusual occurrences immediately to your manager. This may be evidence of bruising or unexplained marks on the child or young person or their behaviour giving cause for concern such as becoming upset or distressed for example.

What about phones, devices, texting and social media?

Since the Covid pandemic, the use of phones, texting and social media has increased significantly and has raised a number of issues.

Where it is necessary to do so, you should only use work devices to communicate with children, young people, their parents and carers. Do not use your own devices as this may disclose your personal phone number and/or email address. These should be kept private for the safety of children and young people and your own.

Practice tip: Never give your personal or work device to a child, young person, parent or carer, even for them just to take a quick photo of you/the class or to play a game. This can result in them seeing your private messages and photos on a personal device or messages from/to or information about service users on your device.

Work phones

As a general rule, work phones should always be switched off outside of working hours unless a specific purpose has been agreed with one's line manager for a specific period of time. Children, young people and parents or carers should be advised of the times practitioners are available and who else they contact when they are not. Failure to turn off one's phone can result in some avoidable difficulties being created:

• practitioners become responsible when they answer the phone or respond to contact from the child or young person out of hours and have a duty to ensure the child or young person's wellbeing
• answering a call to a child or young person during non-working hours may mean that the practitioner is not well-placed to ensure the child or young person's safety and confidentiality are maintained, for example, if they are in a social setting; the practitioner's capacity to respond may be compromised if it is late, they are tired or perhaps have been drinking
• children and young people can begin to expect that practitioners can be contacted outside of working hours should they need advice or assistance; this can build an unhealthy reliance on the practitioner, leaving them to feel let down or not know where to turn at times when the worker is unavailable
• if the practitioner answers the phone to one young person, for example, but not to another, they are not treating their service users equitably and there is a potential for favouritism, at minimum
• practitioners need to ensure that they protect their work-life balance - rest, and time away from work are important for wellbeing

What are the worries about texting?

Some children and young people, including those with additional needs or severe anxiety, may find communicating via texting or email easier or more manageable for them. This should be recorded in agency records as a communication need, along with the parameters around this type of contact. Many children or young people may have this as a communication preference, which should be respected, but caution needs to be exercised.

Research has shown that frequent texting with children and young people can serve to blur professional boundaries and create unrealistic expectations for the child or young person about response times etc. For example, if a social worker is responding frequently to texts from a young person, they are taking time away from the tasks they should be doing for other service users or time they should be spending with other young people in their caseload. If workers fail to respond quickly enough, in the young person's opinion, they might feel hurt and rejected or that they are unimportant. It is important to establish from the outset that practitioners are working with a number of different children and young people, that they work a set number of hours and that they cannot always respond quickly - they may be busy, unwell, on leave or have simply left their phone at home that day by mistake.

Practitioners should not be phoning or texting children or young people outwith their working hours unless there is a clear, reason and their managers are aware.

Other safeguarding issues can arise:

• Who are you texting really? How confident can the practitioner be that they are having a text exchange with the child or young person themselves? There are multiple examples of phones being used to deceive professionals such as an abusive partner pretending to be the person about whom people are concerned.
• Confidentiality - How secure is the information on the young person's phone if sensitive details of their situation are being discussed? Would the texts the young person share cause them difficulty if read by a parent of carer? For example, a young person texting about being unhappy in their home life could expose them to greater risk.

Practice tip: As practitioners, it is important to use texting as the important tool it can be to arrange a visit or have a quick check in, but it should not be used for ongoing discussions or for serious or sensitive issues.

What about social media?

Practitioners and volunteers working with children and young people should always have their social media profiles set to private and be mindful of their profile/cover photos. They should not be friends with/followers of children and young people with whom they work on social media. They should not access the pages of children, young people and parents with whom they work on social media.

When practitioners are working and living in small communities, it is likely that some friendships/contacts in real life and social media may overlap, as discussed above. However, where there is a clear conflict of interest, the privacy of the child or young person and the practitioner themselves should be prioritised.

The British Association of Social Workers has created a Social Media Policy regarding social media use by social workers. The General Teaching Council for Scotland offers 'Engaging online: A guide for teachers' to support teachers with online interactions. The Nursing and Midwifery Council provides social media guidance for its staff.

Don't be a bystander - take action

As practitioners and adults, we have a responsibility to act if we witness or become aware of a colleague or any person behaving inappropriately towards children and young people. Challenging colleagues can feel really uncomfortable but children and young people are relying on us to do our best to keep them safe. Many times, a colleague who has perhaps said something silly, or has acted in a way that might not be the safest for the child or themselves, may have done so through a lack of self-awareness or there may be a training issue that can be resolved. We can be good colleagues by letting each other know when our practice needs to change or be improved. However, on the occasions where practice has been unsafe or harmful, action must be taken to safeguard children and young people.

What to do if you are worried about the behaviour of a colleague?

If you witness a baby, child or young person being hurt or harmed, or receive a disclosure from a child or young person that a colleague has hurt or harmed them, you must act immediately. Report the incident to your line manager and ensure that the incident is followed up with Police and Social Work if appropriate. All organisations should have guidance or policies around allegations made towards a member of staff and these should be followed.

Sometimes however, it can be less clear what has happened or what you might be picking up on that is making you feel worried. Take a few moments to think through what your concerns are. Think about what you have seen, heard and felt from different angles and consider different explanations, including 'thinking the unthinkable.' It may help you to write some notes down, particularly times/dates where you have seen something of concern. It is important that you then take the next step, which is to speak to your line manager and discuss next steps which may include a referral to social work or Police for investigation.